A teenager who was driving for the first time after passing her test ended up stuck on the M25 for eight hours.
A crash near Lakeside Shopping Centre in Grays, Essex, at 05:30 BST on Thursday caused huge delays, with the road not reopening until 20:40 due to multiple complications.
National Highways said about a quarter of a mile (400m) of road needed resurfacing after an oil spill, and cooling was slowed down by the hot weather.
For Beatrix, a 20-minute journey with her relative ended up being a long wait in gridlock, but despite the pressure she said her driving instructor would have been impressed with her performance.
The 17-year-old, from Romford, east London, said: “It was me and my cousin in the car and both of our phones died. So, we didn’t really know how to get back and we were following road signs.
“I’ve never driven on the M25… so, that was very scary.”